Short-term comparison of cervical fusion with static and dynamic plating using computerized motion analysis

This study is a retrospective review of fusion rates for cervical plates, analyzed by means of computerized analysis. This study compares the fusion rates for two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion between patients with static versus dynamic plates. Anterior cervical plating has been shown to decrease the pseudarthrosis rate. However, static plates, which have been successful in reducing nonunion rates, may be "too rigid" in certain situations, leading to pseudarthrosis in some patients. Recently, some surgeons have begun using dynamic plate constructs to avoid this problem. A retrospective review was performed of patients having a two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion performed either with a static or dynamic plate. A computerized method for evaluating the presence of a solid fusion was used with a criterion of